A Sunny Day on the San Francisco Bay
After a snoozy sleep-in (man, i needed it, too!), i made my way into the city Sunday afternoon. my biggest slowdown was crossing the traffic trying to get into the Emeryville/Berkley area. i've seen this phenomenon a few times...what's the big deal? All teh gehs going to IKEA? LOL!! i stopped halfway across the Bay Bridge on Yerba Linda Island and Treasure Island since that's where you can get the best pics of the bridge and the SF skyline. Sure, you can cross into Marin and get a good pic of the Golden Gate, but the Bay Bridge into the city is the real money shot. After that, i headed to the Castro and spent a good 20 minutes finding a parking spot. Such is life in the big city, eh? i stopped in a couple of shops and was walking down the street when a voice from behind asked, "Are you from St Louis?" It occurred to me that i was wearing my JJ's tshirt and the logo is pretty big on the back and the voice struck me as vaguely familiar - something that caught me off-guard. i turned and discovered my old friend, Jack, who wasn't expecting to see me either! His company had transferred him out here rather suddenly just a few months ago and i didn't get the chance to see him in the short time he had to pack it up and go. We spent a little time together and then made plans to meet up later at the LS. i wanted to get down there in hopes of meeting Dadbear's best friend, Joe, who as you may recall i missed on Friday between going to Planet Big and having to get home to get to work on Saturday morning. When i got there, i went upstairs to get a bulldog tshirt for Matthew, but all they had was XL. i called Matt and put Kevin, the poor guy manning the store, on the phone to vouch for the fact that i had indeed come to get his shirt, but they were out of the size he wanted. No matter, i got the shirt anyway and gave Kevin, the store bear, some smoochin' for putting him in that awkward position. LOL!! As the afternoon progressed, i spent time with urso and ran into Steve/zbear20 and we talked about old times and that one hot scene in particular upstairs at the now-gone Loading Dock. Fond memories indeed. i ran into ncbearcub's old buddies, Turner & David, who had just moved out to SF from Raleigh, NC, about 2 months ago (i guess March was a popular time for moving to SF, eh?) with a couple friends to include a little pocketbear cutie named "Chance" who i wouldn't mind takin' a "chance" on, if you know what i mean. (i think that you do!) Alas, the place soon started hitting maximum density and i was getting claustrophobic - nah, i just don't like crowds - so i left and instead of turning left to go back to my car, i turned right and walked down to the Eagle. Dadbear had never taken me there before. Back in those days, it had taken a rather un-leather turn - sometimes you can't really control your clientele - so He didn't like to go there. But it seems to be getting back to it's roots and there were quite a few leathermen out, a pleasant sight on a Sunday afternoon. i talked a bit with Steve and his hubby, Shane, and some with Jack again. But as the sun started setting, it was time to head back over the hill to get some rest before today's activities began. Alas, i didn't get to meet up with Joe - dog issues - but there are still a couple of days so maybe i can juggle something. i swear, i've got the craziest social calendar - you guys are the best!
i love the old international streetcars that they run - streetcars have always facsinated me
my buddy, Jack, a recent expat from St Louis now in San Jose. (Notice the word coming out of his ear on the awning across the street. The "Moby" part got obscured. Coincidence? LOL!) Giving urso a big hug while a slightly intoxicated friend gets in on the picture-taking action.
a big Hollywood kiss for zbear20; bearcubnc's old friends, Turner & David, who just swapped coasts only a couple of months ago
heading home at the end of another perfect, California day